LEARN ABOUT IT!A biochemist uses training in biology and chemistry to study living organisms. Biochemists determine the chemical and biological composition of a plant or animal, and then study how it reacts to different substances under various conditions. Many biochemists conduct laboratory tests for agricultural or medical companies, and contribute knowledge to fighting diseases in both plants and animals, including humans.

THINK ABOUT IT!Biochemist Stanley Prusiner won the 1997 Nobel Prize for medicine because his research led to the discovery of the infectious agent that causes mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy). The agent, known as a prion, causes infected cow's brain cells to die. Since 1986, over 150,000 confirmed cases of mad cow disease have occurred among cattle in the United Kingdom.

TALK ABOUT IT!If you were a biochemist, would you rather search for cures to diseases in plants or in animals? What are some of the advantages to working with each group?

DO IT!Biochemists often look at an organism's metabolism, which is all of the chemical reactions that take place when living things transform food into energy. While it is difficult to measure your own metabolism, pay attention to how you fell after doing various activities, such as running around the block, eating healthy food, eating junk food or just sitting still.